Inside Fairies' Heads
by Theralion
Summary: A series of one-shots exploring what goes on inside some of the cast of Fairy Tail's minds at particularly emotional moments.
1. Lucy

**Inside Fairies' Heads**

* * *

 **Lucy**

Lucy was a girl of many emotions. In the course of an ordinary job, she might feel a sense of unease and fear going into a fierce battle, joy as she emerged victorious, anger as the reward was taken away to pay for the property damage, disgust as her teammates bickered and sadness as she worried about paying the rent.

But few things inspired as many emotions as her father and the often strained parent-child relationship they shared, which had driven her to run away from home and seek out a guild. She was grateful that Makarov, master of Fairy Tail, had not asked too many questions about her past, but was not yet aware that it was not fully behind her.

Phantom Lord, one of Fairy Tail's oldest and fiercest rivals, had attacked Fairy Tail, wrecking its guild hall and injuring the three members of Team Shadow Gear, one of whom was Lucy's close friend. In the ensuing battle, Makarov's magic was drained, forcing Fairy Tail to retreat, and Lucy was kidnapped by two of Phantom Lord's elite mages- Juvia and Monsieur Sol- and taken hostage.

* * *

Lucy came to in the Phantom Lord dungeon, triggering a reflexive reaction of shock and horror from Lucy's Fear. Before long, Jose Porla, master of Phantom Lord, appeared before her.

"So now,the head of the bad guys is here," Lucy's Anger said, holding a newspaper saying "PHANTOM LORD MASTERMIND REVEALED." before crumpling it in her fist. "Let's give him a piece of our minds.

"You really want to do that, Anger?" Lucy's Fear said. "Two of the Element Four took Lucy down easily, and he's most likely even tougher than they are, as one of the Ten Wizard Saints."

Lucy's Anger's fury continued unabated, only encouraged by the superficial veneer of politeness that Jose displayed toward his captive.

In the middle of it all, a centipede crawled over Lucy, causing Lucy's Fear to push the "Panic" button.

"You have a good grasp of your priorities, don't you?" Lucy's Disgust said, her voice dripping sarcasm. "A creepy, powerful and evil mage who's stronger than Lucy or any of her allies is in the room, and you're worried about a bug she can crush with her foot?"

"Focus, people," Lucy's Joy said. "We need to find out why this man's doing this for the sake of Levy-chan and all the others who were injured."

Lucy's Joy pressed some buttons and put Lucy on "Information Gathering" mode. Before long, Jose had given her a fair amount of information as to his motives, although some questions remained unanswered.

"He's saying that they were after a certain individual, namely us..." Lucy's Sadness said. "It can't be because... Lucy's a Heartfilia?"

"It gets even better..." Lucy's Anger said. "Lucy's _father_ is behind this! If this guy's telling a joke, it's not funny!"

Lucy's Anger then took the controls, resulting in Lucy loudly denying that Jude would ever do such a thing.

"Deny it all you like," Lucy's Sadness said as Jose was unconvinced, "it won't change anything. This is all our fault after all."

"Don't you have m-more important things to bee worried about?" Lucy's Fear said. "Like getting out of here?"

Lucy's Joy took a moment to assess the situation. Lucy's hands were bound, she did not know the way out, and she was without her keys. It was thus difficult for her to find a way out and almost impossible for her to fight back, but Lucy had a plan.

"I've got a plan," Lucy's Joy said. "Trick him by going to the bathroom."

"Ugh, if you say so," Lucy's Disgust said.

Much to Lucy's chagrin, though, Jose had anticipated this, and told her to use a bucket.

"Does he expect use that thing?" Lucy's Disgust said. "His mind's deeper in the gutter than Joy's is."

"Apparently," Lucy's Anger said. "But the moron looked away, so let's give him a kick where it hurts!"

Kicking Jose in the groin, Lucy made her escape.

"W-what are you thinking?" Lucy's Fear said. "He's one of the Ten Wizard Saints, so it isn't this easy to-"

Lucy's Fear then pulled an emergency brake as he saw that across the threshold of the door lay nothing more than open air, several stories above the ground. Jose had prepared for Lucy escaping this way as well, and so he had imprisoned her in a cell that she could not leave without his permission unless she intended to plummet to her death.

"This is bad," Lucy's Fear said, "r-really b-bad. He knows Lucy can't escape, and he's going to pay her back for that kick."

"Can she?" Lucy's Joy said. "You never know until you try."

"Are you crazy?!" Lucy's Fear said, her voice becoming more urgent as she spoke. "People are afraid of heights for a reason! Lucy will _die_ if she falls from here!"

"Not if Natsu catches Lucy!" Lucy's Joy said. "Besides, even that can't be worse than what Jose has in mind."

As Far hesitated, unable to dispute the latter assertion, Lucy's Joy pressed the Leap Of Faith button, over Lucy's Fear's loud and shrill protests, and called out for Natsu. Even though Lucy's mind was unaffected by the fall, Lucy's emotions braced themselves for impact, until Natsu caught her.

"We made it!" Lucy's Joy said as Natsu caught her.

"N-no thanks to you," Lucy's Fear said. "We got l-lucky back there, and we'll need a lot more luck to deal with what Phantom Lord has in store for Fairy Tail."

Lucy's emotions soon came to the conclusion that they had to get to safety and rejoin the rest of the guild. The battle was only beginning, and Fairy Tail could only survive by defeating all of Phantom Lord's mages. This was no small task for even a guild as strong as Fairy Tail, but Lucy believed in her friends and wished she could help them in this difficult battle

* * *

Throughout the rest of the guild war, Lucy's top priorities were survival and doing what she could to help her guildmates. To her, it hardly mattered for the moment whether her father was responsible, compared to.

In the end, Phantom Lord's master, its Element Four and its strongest member, Gajeel, were all defeated, Phantom Lord's headquarters was destroyed and the threat was neutralized. In the process, however, Fairy Tail had suffered its fair share of injuries, and some of its members had come close to death.

Even as her friends welcomed her back, Lucy's eyes filled with tears.

"All this is because he went after Lucy," Lucy's Sadness said, "and we couldn't do anything to help."

But then the members who were injured for Lucy's sake stepped forward and comforted her, forgetting about what they had suffered. First and foremost in their mind was the fact that Lucy in specific and Fairy Tail as a whole were alive and well, and so they could take satisfaction in that.

"It looks like you're the only one who feels that way, Sadness," Lucy's Joy said. "All these members of the guild see her as a comrade, and are willing to fight to protect her."

As Lucy broke down in tears, she realized that Fairy Tail was her home, and she was now a part of it. Now, the challenge before her was to find a way to protect her friends from her father.

* * *

In the days after the war with Phantom Lord ended, Fairy Tail underwent extensive questioning. Fighting other guilds, even in retaliation for attacks, was strictly prohibited by the Council, so the war resulted in Phantom Lord being dissolved and Fairy Tail nearly suffering the same fate.

Between the interrogation sessions, Lucy had a great deal of time to think about why her father had done what he did. Her contributions to this battle had been limited, so she believed it was her duty to ensure that she would not cause another one.

In the days after the battle, Lucy's emotions held a conference to discuss what to do next. The consensus was that Lucy had left the issue of her father unaddressed for too long by running away, but no one was certain what she should do or what would happen next.

"Father's the root of the problem," Lucy's Anger said. "He can't take Lucy in a fair fight, nor can he get her to listen, so he hires a guild to bring her back."

Lucy's Sadness put on another memory, one that showed Lucy's father angrily rebuffing her attempt to offer him a rice ball, in hopes of getting him to spend time with her on her birthday.

"So if Father acts like this when Lucy does something nice for him..." Lucy's Sadness said, "it stands to reason that if Lucy ran away, he'd bring her back regardless of her wishes."

"Aren't there any happy memories in there, Sadness?" Lucy's Joy said. Lucy's Sadness could only shake her head.

"If you have time to look for happy memories," Lucy's Anger said, "you have time to think about why he did this!"

Lucy's Anger crumpled a newspaper with the headline, "PHANTOM DISBANDS, BUT FATHER UNDETERRED"

"And he could come back and do it again," Lucy's Fear said. "There's all sorts of unscrupulous guilds who would take on jobs like this."

"Well, what are you going to suggest that we do, go back to him?" Lucy's Anger said. "Like hell we will!"

"No one's suggesting such a thing, Anger," Lucy's Joy said. "It may be best to confront this issue. To that end, we should speak with our father face-to-face. It's possible that he's simply upset about Lucy leaving without telling him, and can see reason. If not... we'll make it clear no one messes with our friends."

"Sounds perfect," Anger said.

After writing a brief note to her friends, saying "I will go home," (which Lucy's Fear worried they would misinterpret), Lucy set out to settle her business with her father.

* * *

Arriving at the Heartfilia manor, Lucy was greeted by many of her family's servants, most of whom seemed quite pleased to see her again.

"It's wonderful to see everyone again," Lucy's Joy said, loading memories of Lucy's time with them.

"Even that old blowhard, Belo?" Lucy's Anger said, her voice carrying a fair amount of disgust toward Lucy's private tutor..

"Yes, including him," Lucy's Joy said. "He taught Lucy a great deal about Celestial Spirits, and he cares for her in his own way."

"Unlike some people I could name," Lucy's Anger said sardonically.

"I agree, Anger," Lucy's Sadness said. "It seems Lucy has happy memories with all the people here except her father."

Lucy's Joy sighed. As pleasant as it was to see everyone again, that was not why Lucy had come back. The most important and least pleasant part of the trip was yet to come.

On the insistence of one of her maids, Lucy got dressed in a fancy dress.

"She's seriously making Lucy wear this?" Lucy's Anger said.

"Well, it does look pretty nice," Lucy's Joy said. "I do have a certain appreciation for looking stylish after spending so much time around Erza, even if those outfits aren't quite what I can afford."

"She pays for them by going on all those S-Class missions," Lucy's Fear said. "It's essentially like Galuna Island on a daily basis."

"And we got through that, didn't we?" Lucy's Joy said.

Lucy's Anger banged her fist on the flat pat of the control panel to get the other emotions' attention. They looked at the display screen and saw the door to Lucy's father's office.

"All right, everyone, focus," Lucy's Anger said. "It's time for the main event.

With some degree of trepidation, Lucy entered her father's office. Her father sternly welcomed her back, and said that he was planning on using his wealth to disband Fairy Tail, but hoped she'd learned her lesson.

"Well, we're not off to a good start," Lucy's Fear said. "I was right; Father had a Plan B."

"Is this how he welcomes us back?" Lucy's Anger said. "Calling _Lucy_ selfish? I wasn't expecting an apology, but he's got some nerve to say that."

"And he says we'll never see our friends again?" Lucy's Sadness said.

"Did you think he'd do anything else?" Lucy's Disgust said, annoyed.

"Well, it does make things significantly easier," Lucy's Joy said. "At the very least, he's being up front with us, rather than trying to manipulate Lucy."

The other emotions reluctantly nodded. If Jude had offered a carrot as well as a stick, there was a risk that one of Lucy's emotions, most likely Joy, would have taken it. But there was no compelling reason for Lucy to return, apart from the Heartfilia group's money, and even Fear was less scared of Jude's intimidation than he was by the prospect of not seeing Lucy's friends again.

"Oh, it gets better," Lucy's Anger said. "He's talking about an arranged marriage with that prince guy."

"Load the memory," Lucy's Disgust said upon hearing the name of her suitor. The memory appeared, showing a man who was unattractive at best wooing Lucy using methods that bordered on sexual harassment. "Yeesh, he's worse than remembered."

Lucy's Sadness, resigned to how bad things had gotten, had Lucy blandly say that she remembered. As Jude stipulated his desire for a son as an heiress, Lucy's Anger pounded her fist on the console.

"So there you have it," Lucy's Anger said, crumpling a paper that says "DAD ARRANGES MARRIAGE BETWEEN LUCY AND LOSER: Unrepentant About Dealings With Phantom Lord". "He doesn't even try to apologize, but instead makes demands of Lucy. He doesn't care about her, or even the son he expects her to bear for him, but about his business? I take it there are no objections, then?"

Lucy's other four emotions shook their heads.

"Go right ahead," Lucy's Disgust said with a look of perverse enjoyment.

"I...if you're sure," Lucy's Fear said.

"I can't think of anything better..." Lucy's Sadness said.

"Me neither," Lucy's Joy said. "So do what you want here, Anger."

"Great!" Lucy's Anger said. "I've been saving this up since that Jose creep told us that Father hired him!"

Lucy's Anger then loaded a prepared speech from the hard drive of the console, and, opening a glass panel, pressed a red button, denouncing her father for all he had done to her, and declaring that if he interfered again, he'd make an enemy of the guild. As she said that, Lucy tore apart a dress that most likely cost several months' worth of rent.

"If I may, Anger?" Lucy's Sadness said, offering a statement of her own.

"Go ahead," Lucy's Anger said. "It's not Mother and the others' fault that Father's a jerk, but we'll have to say goodbye to them anyway."

Lucy's Sadness loaded memories of her mother, and admitted that it was difficult to part with the servants, but believed her mother would want her to do the same. With a somber voice, Lucy said goodbye to her father.

"So it's really come to this..." Lucy's Sadness said. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Lucy's Sadness said. "We're leaving all the people we know behind."

"Yes, but it's better this way," Lucy's Joy said. "We did what we did for the sake of our guild, and our companions. Look; there's the friends who fought alongside us."

After visiting her mother's grave, Lucy's Joy then pushed the button to greet her friends with a smile. She had hoped it would never come to this, but she knew that Fairy Tail was her home now, and was confident that her father would never threaten her new friends again.

Unbeknownst to her emotions, this would not be the last time Lucy saw her father.

* * *

Several weeks passed, and Lucy did not regret her decision. There were good times and there were bad ones, but she had come to accept the latter as part of the life she had chosen. She had left behind her privileged life in favor of one that had a great deal of hardship, and to some degree, prided herself on taking that on.

Of course, there were times when she realized that not having the resources of her family at her disposal was a serious problem, such as when rent was coming due on her apartment. She had hoped to win 500,000 jewels by competing in the Miss Fairy Tail contest, but had come in second after Erza, leaving her as desperate as she had been since the Harvest Festival had begun.

Lucy walked home one night, with her Joy celebrating having gotten a job with her teammates, but she soon noticed someone behind her.

"I-Is it just me, or are we being followed?" Lucy's Fear said.

"Unfortunately, it's not just you," Lucy's Sadness said.

Lucy's Emotions received a "Tail Alert," indicating that Lucy was being followed. Her months as a mage had opened her eyes to how many dangerous people there were out there, a good portion of whom were stronger than her.

"This could be bad," Lucy's Fear said, putting Lucy on Alert mode. "It's a bit like the time when Juvia and Monsieur Sol ambushed and kidnapped Lucy."

"But Juvia's one of Lucy's friends now," Lucy's Joy said, "albeit also a self-proclaimed rival in love. This should work out for the best. Just stay calm, Lucy, and keep a good grip on your keys."

Lucy's Joy, her ability to see and chase the small glimmers of hope, had kept her alive in desperate situations in the past.

"It looks like he's gone," Lucy's Joy said, only to find him right behind Lucy.

Lucy's Fear hit the Panic button, and Lucy screamed, out of shock, fear and the hope of summoning help.

But then the man turned out to be Lucy's father.

"Oh, it's just father," Lucy's Fear said. "I'm not happy to see him, but at least he's not a stalker, pervert or kidnapper."

"Is that really him?" Lucy's Disgust said. "He has the suit, but his hair and beard are long and unkempt. He's really let himself go..."

Lucy's Disgust ran a facial and voice recognition program on him. While the results came back lower than most would expect, the voice was a perfect match.

"It's hard to believe that Lucy's father is in such a state," Lucy's Sadness said. "What happened to him?"

Lucy then heard that Heartfilia Rail had been bought out, resulting in her father losing his job, his money and his home.

"What a moron," Lucy's Disgust said. "Really, I shouldn't have expected any better from the man who trusted Phantom Lord."

"There's some good news," Lucy's Joy said. "He was able to save Mother's grave. She may no longer be resting where she wanted, but Lucy can still go visit her."

Accepting the piece of paper, Lucy made note of where her mother was now buried, committing it to memory, and a new memory slid into Lucy's short term memory.

"If that's all, he could have just sent a letter," Lucy's Anger said. "Why is he here? Don't tell me he just wants to see us."

"Maybe that _is_ the case," Lucy's Joy said. "He's had some time to think about it, and experienced some humbling strokes of misfortune, so it's possible that he's come to his senses."

"Fat chance!" Lucy's Anger said.

"I...I'm with Anger," Lucy's Fear said. "I don't think he's given up on bringing us back. Maybe he's faking the entire thing."

"I don't think he could do that," Lucy's Joy said. "There's no way someone as self-respecting as Father would settle for such shabby grooming."

Lucy's Fear let out a sigh, partly in relief and partly in disappointment, as Lucy's Father denied having the power to bring Lucy back anymore.

"See?" Lucy's Joy said., as she had Lucy politely acknowledge hearing it. "And he's not going to stick around, so it's not like Lucy will have to live with him again."

Lucy's Anger glared at her and remained silent, as Jude asked for money. As Jude made his request, a smug grin crossed Lucy's Anger's face, as if to say "I told you so."

"Oh... it gets better," Lucy's Disgust said. "He's asking us for money."

"100,000 Jewels," Lucy's Sadness said. "Even if we'd won Miss Fairy Tail, we can't throw that much around."

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Lucy's Anger said. "Lucy's having trouble making rent and now _he_ asks _her_ for money?"

"It looks like this was going to happen even if we'd stayed behind," Lucy's Sadness said. "She wouldn't just be struggling to make rent, she'd be jobless and homeless, too. We just can't win, can we?"

"Well, let's just say no," Lucy's Joy said. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Lucy hesitantly refused, at which point, Jude asked more forcefully.

Lucy's Fear played a memory of Lucy shrinking away from Jude's anger. An angry parent with a loud voice had a great deal of influence over a young child, but Lucy had grown up a great deal, becoming more independent and determined. Thus, even Lucy's Fear silently deferred to Lucy's Anger as the latter prepared a response.

"And he's calling US ungrateful?" Lucy's Anger said, seizing the controls as no one tried to stop him. "Get him out of our sight!"

Lucy's Anger slammed down on the "No" button and Lucy told him to leave. After a moment, Jude reluctantly complied. As he turned away and left, she fell on her knees and burst into tears.

"This is not how I hoped our reunion with Father would go," Lucy's Joy said.

"Not at all," Lucy's Anger said, "but it's _his_ fault- it's _always been."_

As Lucy turned in for the night, her Joy let out a sigh of disappointment as yet another unpleasant memory about her father was sent into her long-term Memory. She was no happier with her father than the day she had left her childhood home for the last time, but a part of her, spurred on by her Sadness, was unwilling to accept that things with her father would end this way. That small part of her hoped things between her and her father would change, even if she didn't know how they would.

* * *

The next day, Lucy heard about the job- capturing an escaped convict with a two million jewel bounty. She would be working alongside Natsu, Gray, Happy and Erza, and so would have to split the reward five ways, to say nothing of what property damage might result from the battle, but that job's reward was one she had seldom seen before or since.

"Wonderful," Lucy's Joy said. "That'll keep us going for months."

Lucy's Fear, however, noticed something was wrong as she overheard a conversation about a merchant guild in Akarifa. The name immediately sounded familiar to Lucy.

"Play the memory," Lucy's Fear said. "The one in which Lucy's father said where he was going to work."

The memory of Jude talking about Lucy's new workplace played.

"Aha!" Lucy's Fear said. "Father's in danger!"

"Why do you care about a guy like him, Fear?" Lucy's Anger said. "He was out of his damn mind to ask Lucy for 100,000 Jewels, so why would Lucy forgo earning 400,000 just for his sake?"

"Not just for his sake, Anger," Lucy's Joy said. "There's many other hostages there. I know that Father is far from a good person, but does he deserve this?"

Lucy's Anger sighed, unwilling to contest the point.

"He'd better be grateful..." Lucy's Anger said, as Lucy impulsively ran off toward the merchant's guild.

* * *

Lucy entered the Love & Lucky guild with Virgo, and with her Anger's guidance, launched one attack after another with her Celestial Spirits and even her kicks, defeating the hostage takers. Perhaps they were prepared for the army, but not for a Celestial Spirit wizard.

Nice work!" Lucy's Joy said. "Many innocent people are now safe, so we deserve a pat on the back for this."

"Yeah, but did we get what we came here for?" Lucy's Fear said, as Lucy searched outside. "Our father isn't here, and this lot executes hostages. Do you think he's already..."

At that point, however, Lucy's father arrived, oblivious to what had happened, and unaware of his daughter's efforts to protect him fro danger.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," Lucy's Anger said, glaring at Lucy's Fear. "All this for nothing?"

"We did save a lot of innocent people, Anger," Lucy's Joy said, stepping in front of Lucy's Fear. "And just who refused to give Father the money for a carriage?"

Anger was briefly crestfallen as Lucy's father confirmed that he arrived late because he had to walk.

"Still, it looks like it was a good idea not to lend him that money after all," Lucy's Joy said. "Because he was late getting here, he didn't end up a hostage, or worse."

"Yeah, no kidding," Lucy's Disgust said. "Shelling out 100,000 jewels for his daily commute? And he wonders why he went bankrupt."

"So what's he here for now?" Lucy's Anger asked as Lucy's father was surprised at her being willing to help him. "Last time, it was to ask us for money, and the time before was to force us into an arranged marriage."

Lucy's Anger was unable to remember the time before those two. As far as Lucy could recall, Lucy's father had left her to her own devices to study, and by the time he went to check in on her, she was already halfway to Hargeon.

"At the moment, it's thanking Lucy," Lucy's Joy said. "Whatever his ulterior motive is, he seems grateful enough."

"You think that makes up for everything?" Lucy's Anger said, as Lucy was about to storm off.

Lucy's Joy sighed.

"No, it doesn't," Lucy's Joy said. "Go ahead, Anger, but please don't be too harsh on him."

Lucy's Anger pressed a button and Lucy reminded her father that she had not yet forgiven him, and he solemnly admitted her point. He apologized for his behavior the previous night. and told her about how she had been named. There was a ring of sincerity to his words, as he fondly reminisced about his humbler beginnings, and expressed a desire to start over.

"Well, that went over fairly well," Lucy's Joy said upon hearing Lucy's father promise to change.

"Still, it's just a promise," Lucy's Anger said, holding a paper saying "DAD HAS CHANGE OF HEART: Daughter Still Undecided, Though."

"I know," Lucy's Joy said. "For the longest time, though, we thought even that was beyond him, so let's watch him and see how he changes over time."

Lucy then heard her friends coming and bid her father farewell, apologizing for running off. For the first time in a while, Lucy filed away a happy memory related to her father.

* * *

Over the next few few weeks, Lucy reached an uneasy peace with her father. The two of them could not go back to the way they were before, especially since Lucy did not have the desire to do so. Her relationship with her father had always been troubled on some level, so she believed it would take a long time for their relationship to become "good", if it ever did.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Lucy, her friends and most of the strongest and most promising mages of Fairy Tail were frozen in time on Tenrou Island for seven years.

Immediately after hearing about how long they had been gone, Lucy's emotions had an emergency conference. Everything that they knew was now out of date by seven years. Fairy Tail was now a shell of its former self, while some of its formerly obscure rivals had risen to prominence. Many of the people Lucy knew were significantly older, and some of the other mages had grown stronger. New lives had come into the world, such as Asuka, daughter of Alzack and Bisca , and the opposite was true.

Lucy's Fear had been the first to propose the idea that Lucy's father had passed away, but none of the others, not even Lucy's Anger, wanted to hear it. Still, as Lucy's emotions played memories of what were, for her, recent events, including Cana finally meeting her father, Gildarts, she thought back to her own father, and sought him out.

Unfortunately, when she arrived at Love & Lucky again, she learned she was too late. A month before her return, her father had passed away.

* * *

At the cemetery, Lucy passed some girls who were complaining about their fathers while hoping that they would die, callously wishing for what would not be a true solution to their trivial grievances.

"Ugh, don't those girls have any decency?" Lucy's Disgust said. "I ought to give a piece of my mind to those insensitive little..."

"What are you going to say, Disgust?" Lucy's Sadness said. "Was Lucy's father really any better?'

"You know, Sadness, we don't really know," Lucy's Joy said.

Lucy's conflicting emotions gave her pause, long enough for the impulsive Natsu to shout at the girls for Lucy's sake, as he clearly noticed that their words were distressing her. Reflexively, Lucy's Sadness apologized to Natsu for making him worry about her.

"So, Happy wants to know how we feel," Lucy's Fear said.

"Where do we even begin?" Lucy's Anger said. "Lucy's childhood was hardly a picnic, and even before the time when Lucy ran away."

"I can't deny that," Lucy's Joy said. "But Lucy's father began to change, too."

"But in the end, he presumably worked himself to death," Lucy's Sadness said, "and now, Lucy can't even bring herself to cry about it."

"According to Natsu, that's just how Lucy is," Lucy's Joy said. "I suppose that emotions like this are only natural."

The other emotions nodded in agreement. They seldom agreed on anything, but were grateful that Lucy could come to an understanding her own feelings on this matter. She would have to deal with the loss of her father for the rest of her life, but it was good progress for now.

* * *

Shortly after getting back from Akarifa, Lucy had a large shock when her landlady dragged her by the ankle to the room, and a larger shock, when Lucy learned that all her back rent had been paid off... by her father. Along with the rent came a letter, explaining Lucy's father's hopes that she was still alive, his determination to work hard and support her in her absence, and most of all, his love for her.

"He did remember Lucy's birthday, after all!" Lucy's Joy said. In spite of her grief, she was honestly grateful for what Lucy's father had given her.

Lucy's Anger and Disgust had fallen silent, but both could only nod in agreement. The bad memories Lucy had of her father remained, but she would more often think about the sacrifices he had made for her than of the conflicts they had. Likewise, Lucy's Fear had little to say now that her worst fears had come to pass.

"He even said that he loved Lucy," Lucy's Sadness said, tears running down her face. "Why couldn't we do the same?"

Lucy then burst into tears and, on her Sadness' urging, admitted that she loved her father. Perhaps no one would hear it, especially not her father, but it was something that Lucy wished to say, even now that it was too late.

Lucy had come back from Tenrou Island too late to fully reconcile with her father, and had returned to a world that had seemingly left Fairy Tail behind. But she had come back, and now, she and the others could only move forward, to reclaim what they had lost, just like her father had worked all this time to rebuild his own life. Lucy vowed to put the same resolve her father had over the course of those seven years into helping her guild re-establish itself, however long it took.

So as Natsu called out to her, informing her that he was about to leave on a job, Lucy dried her tears and got up to join him, determined to keep moving forward, remembering those who were lost while striving hard for the friends and guild she still had.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

This is a series of one-shots showing the inner emotions of Fairy Tail characters as they would be in Inside Out. I don't have any plans on how long it will be or how many stories I'll include, though, and there's no set schedule for new chapters. The title is tentative, and may change once I think of a better one.

From time to time, I'll include profiles on various characters' emotions, mainly mentioning the balance between the five emotions and how they come into play.

Incidentally, time is a bit weird inside the world of Inside Out, as it isn't quite real time, but there's no direct correlation between how long passes in the real world and how long passes inside Riley and the others' minds.

 **Lucy's Emotions**

Lucy has relatively well-balanced emotions, and she, like the adult characters of the film (and Riley in the denouement) has a control panel that allows all of her emotions access.

Here, the conflict is between her Joy and her Anger. The former is relatively optimistic, and I suspect that at least a part of Lucy hoped that things would work out as far as her father was concerned. The latter (along with Disgust, to some degree) represents her bitterness and anger toward her father. In the end, the two emotions work together, recognizing that while Jude has wronged Lucy and she has not forgotten it, she will try to forgive him, and she eventually does so. Lucy's Sadness is somewhat conflicted, recognizing the many sad memories Jude has given Lucy, but also lamenting the possibility of permanent estrangement from him. Lucy's Fear is something of a wild card, alternating between being afraid _of_ and afraid _for_ Lucy's father.


	2. Juvia and Meredy

**Juvia and Meredy**

Juvia's emotions were on full alert inside her head as she and Erza were locked in battle with Meredy of Grimoire Heart on Tenrou Island, Fairy Tail's "holy land" and the site of the guild's S-Class exam in the year X784.

Some might have mistakenly assumed that this encounter was part of the test, but Juvia was no longer eligible after failing the first phase, and Erza, already an S-Class mage, had played her part by defeating Juvia and Lisanna, thereby helping to weed out the less qualified candidates. Moreover, the flare had been fired, signifying that the test had been canceled. So when the Dark Mage appeared before them, the two immediately realized that this was an act of aggression done by a criminal who was willing to stop at nothing, not even killing them, to achieve her organization's goals.

"Oh no, this girl's tough!" Juvia's Fear said as Meredy knocked Juvia to the ground with a fierce attack and blasted Juvia with another spell as she lay in the water that had pooled around the combatants.

"She's clearly looking down on us," Juvia's Disgust said as she heard Juvia was ranked 13th on Meredy's kill list. Counting Exceeds and non-participants, there were roughly two dozen people in question, so her ranking meant she was of relatively little consequence.

"With this gap in p-power, do you b-blame her?" Juvia's Fear said.

"Come on, are you going to let that stand?" Juvia's Anger said. "I mean, Juvia and Lisanna-san didn't do all that well against Erza-san, but seriously..."

Anger looked at the other emotions, and noticed that they barely seemed to be listening to her. While Juvia fought for the sake of her guild, she seldom felt as though her battles were personal, and did not often bear hatred toward her enemies. In fact, the man she loved more than anyone else had once been one of those enemies.

"Don't despair," Juvia's Joy said. "We've got Erza-san with Juvia. Erza-san's fourth on this girl's list, behind Gildarts-san, the Master and..."

As Meredy announced that she most wanted Gray dead, everyone gasped in horror.

"Did you hear that, ladies?" Juvia's Anger said, looking up from a newspaper that said "GRAY-SAMA MARKED FOR DEATH BY GRIMOIRE HEART: Juvia, Other Fairy Tail Members Also Targeted." The others turned to her. "This lady wants to kill Gray-sama! There's only one way to deal with people like her"

The other emotions nodded. Juvia's greatest source of Joy was Gray, the first person who had dispelled the rainclouds around her. Juvia's Sadness was due to Gray's rejection of her, as she hoped he would return her feelings. Juvia's greatest Fear was for anything that would happen to Gray, and she had nothing but Disgust for those who would try to harm him.

Juvia's Anger pressed a button labeled "Emotion Overdrive." "Gray-sama Island," which featured a large statue of Gray with his shirt off, resonated, and "Magic Island," with a large fountain on it, spewed water high into the air, signifying that it was in high gear.

"Go for it!" Juvia's Joy said. "We've got what it takes to defeat her and save Gray-sama!"

Juvia launched a series of powerful attacks against Meredy, putting her on the ropes. On Joy's suggestion, Juvia sent Erza away to find Wenday.

"Are you sure you want to send our most powerful ally away?" Juvia's Fear said. She remembered that of all the top three on the list, Gildarts had left the island, Makarov had supposedly lost to the enemy's leader, and Gray, while the subject of Juvia's admiration, was not quite at Erza's level of power and skill.

"This girl obviously didn't come here alone," Juvia's Sadness said. "Wendy probably needs Erza-san more than we do, if she isn't already..."

Juvia's Sadness fell silent, not wanting to vocalize what she was thinking. Juvia had long since forgotten that she'd been trying to get rid of Erza so she could look for Gray by herself.

Juvia continued her assault on Meredy, and appeared to gain the upper hand.

"We've got this," Juvia's Joy said. "It's only a matte of time until..."

Meredy then cast a strange spell on Juvia that caused her to float and glow for a while, but had no apparent effect. Clearly, it was not a direct attack, unlike the majority of the spells Meredy had used so far, but while Juvia suspected that Meredy was about to play her trump card, she had no idea what it was.

"What's this?" Juvia's Fear said. "I don't have any memories of a spell like this."

Most mages used a variety of well-known spells, but some used magic that was not well known, or was believed to have been lost. Grimoire Heart, with a variety of rare, exotic and long lost spells, was thus an unprecedented challenge to Fairy Tail.

Fortunately for Juvia, Meredy soon described what had happened. The spell did nothing on its own, but it linked her and Gray, resulting in them sharing the same feelings, including pain.

"A Sense Link with Gray-sama?" Juvia's Fear said. "I... don't like the looks of this!"

"In other words, we're intimately connected with Gray-sama?" Juvia's Joy said. "What better state of being could there be?"

But when Juvia was struck by one of Meredy's attacks, Gray felt the same pain on his wrist that Juvia did when the attack landed.

"Oh no..." Juvia's Fear said. "When Juvia gets injured, Gray-sama will come to harm too?"

"The solution's obvious," Juvia's Anger said. "Take this woman out, and Gray-sama's in the clear!"

Juvia launched a counterattack on Meredy, knocking her back. Juvia continued on the assault and struck with a whirlpool, only to have the sensory link include Meredy the moment before the impact. Juvia felt the force of the impact, and she knew Gray did, as well.

"Oh no, this is terrible..." Juvia's Sadness said. "Now, if any one of us gets injured- Meredy, Gray-sama or Juvia- the other two will also feel the pain! We can't beat her as is."

"Th-that's insane!" Juvia's Fear said. "Does she really intend to die along with us?"

The other emotions remained shocked. Juvia had faced many dangerous enemies, but in some ways, there was no more dangerous enemy than one who would even sacrifice her own life to win. When enemies feared death, they could be forced to flee or be persuaded to surrender. Even if they continued to fight, they would likely rule out any reckless or self-sacrificial tactics, and might hesitate at a crucial moment. None of these applied in Meredy's case, and with the Sense Link in place, it was highly likely that neither she nor Juvia would survive the battle.

"Ugh!" Juvia's Anger said. "If she wants to kill herself, that's fine by me, but she'll be dying _by herself!_ "

"What is this feeling?" Disgust said. "Juvia's not leaning against anything, and neither is that woman, so..."

Disgust was unable to complete that thought. She realized that Juvia and Meredy were experiencing what Gray was feeling as well, and once Meredy realized this, she would be certain that the link was in effect.

"Kill herself..." Juvia's Fear said. "Watch out! She's trying to commit suicide! We've got to stop her!"

Juvia's Fear moved quickly and opened a panel to hit the "Self Injury" button. Juvia jammed a watery blade into her own calf.

"OW!" Juvia's Anger said. "What was that for? Now Gray-sama and Juvia are hurt, too!" She ripped apart a newspaper with the headline, "MEREDY INCLUDES SELF IN SENSE LINK: Juvia Injured, All Three Lives At Risk"

"Look!" Juvia's Joy said. "The blades are breaking! We stopped Meredy's suicide attempt!"

"Not for long," Juvia's Sadness said. "If she's willing to give he life to kill Gray-sama, she's dangerous. And she might have felt the pain, but her leg isn't hurt like Juvia's is."

"Come on, keep trying," Juvia's Joy said, as Juvia made another attempt to reason with Meredy.

"She's had her chance!" Juvia's Anger said. "We're doing this the hard way"

Suddenly, a sad Core Memory floated up to the projector and began to play.

"A memory, at a time like this?" Juvia's Fear said. "Is this what it's like when your life flashes before your eyes?"

"It's not Juvia's life," Sadness said, as she saw a girl in the midst of a ruined city being taken in by a young woman named Ultear. Juvia's emotions soon surmised that it was Meredy.

The memory was soon replaced by another happy Core Memory, about Meredy and Ultear talking on Grimoire Heart's airship, and bonding with each other.

Suddenly, before their eyes, the two control centers fused into one. Five more emotions, each representing their counterparts in Meredy, appeared. Off in the distance, behind Juvia's main screen, at the rear of Meredy's control room, was a "Ultear Island."

"Hello," Meredy's Sadness said. "I'm Sadness, and these are the rest of Meredy's emotions."

"I'm her Fear," Meredy's Fear said. "I can't believe what our Anger almost pulled."

Juvia's Fear nodded in understanding. Meredy had her own reasons to live, so it seemed only natural that fear of death would give her pause as she prepared to take her own life.

"I'm Anger," Meredy's Anger said, "and Fear here seems to have forgotten how much that Gray jerk hurt Ultear." She crumpled up a newspaper with the headline, "JUVIA AND MEREDY EXCHANGE EMOTIONS." "How dare Fear give up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kill Gray?"

"Yeah, it's definitely once in a lifetime if it's the last thing Meredy does," Meredy's Fear said.

Meredy's Joy nodded in agreement; she did not see any happiness in Meredy giving her life for the sake of Ultear's revenge.

"I'm Joy," Meredy's Joy said. "The others only let me out when we're dealing with Ultear, but I'm confident I can get more of a role in the future."

"I'm Disgust," Meredy's Disgust said, "and just what are the rest of you doing in here?" Meredy's Disgust paused. "Wait, don't tell me; you're Juvia's emotions?"

Juvia's emotions nodded. Their host's habit of referring to herself in the third person made introductions simple.

"We were hoping you could explain all this to us," Juvia's Fear said, "since Meredy's the one who put up the Sense Link."

"Yeah, in other words, this is _your_ fault," Juvia's Anger said, glaring at her counterpart in Meredy's mind.

"Wait, look!" Juvia's Joy said.

The others turned to the screens, both of which showed Juvia was embracing Meredy. This went beyond her own emotions; Juvia understood perfectly well how Meredy felt, and Meredy was starting to do the same, so both were overwhelmed with emotions beyond either of their control.

"Well, Anger?" Meredy's Disgust said. "What do you have to say to this now?"

"Nothing," Meredy's Anger said. "Now that things have progressed to this point, it's out of my hands. What about my counterpart?"

"Me?" Juvia's Anger said. "I figured out I was in over my head since Meredy put the Sense Link on herself, as it meant that we couldn't just beat her up."

"Maybe that isn't the solution, Anger," Juvia's Joy said. "Perhaps Meredy now understands why Juvia loves Gray-sama so much, but also feels compassion for her, an enemy."

"You know, you may be right," Meredy's Joy said.

The sense link was soon severed, and both women's headquarters began to drift apart from each other.

"Well, looks like this is goodbye," Meredy's Joy said. "I'm glad Meredy didn't do anything she'd regret this time."

"True," Meredy's Sadness said. "Ultear would be devastated if anything happened to her."

"I'm glad you see it that way," Juvia's Joy said. "See you around."

Almost as suddenly as they had come into contact, the two sets of emotions and their headquarters were one again separated. An exceptionally rare event had occurred, adn while Juvia and Meredy still had their differences, they had gained an understanding of each othe.

Juvia collapsed, unconscious, but thankful that Gray was out of danger for the moment. The battle was far from over, so there was no guarantee that everyone- or _anyone-_ from Fairy Tail would make it through, but Juvia promised to do her utmost to make it so.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews

GirlFish: I'll consider doing some of those people at some point in the future

As for this chapter, this was the first idea I thought of when brainstorming this.

Of course, I ran into some challenges here, mainly how long to make the "sharing emotions" scene. It's an interesting experience.

 **Juvia**

In the past, Juvia was primarily focused on Sadness, although it's hard to tell how unemotional people like her are. These days, Joy comes more to the forefront, although Anger is somewhat prominent. Sadness still has a somewhat prominent role, with Juvia's worries over Gray (possibly in the same sense that Sadness is Riley's mother's lead emotion).


	3. Sting

**Sting**

Sting Eucliffe was, for most of his life, unshakably confident in his abilities. He, along with Rogue Cheney, were two of the top members of Saber Tooth, a guild that ascended to the rank of top guild in Fiore in the seven years since Fairy Tail's master and strongest members disappeared. He was a third generation Dragon Slayer, possessing abilities taught to him by a dragon and a dragon lacrima inside his body. He had a memory of himself killing Weisslogia, the Holy Dragon, and the one who had granted him his power. He remembered little of how the battle came to happen, and mainly focused on himself striking the killing blow, but treasured it fondly as a Core Memory, not realizing that it was false.

Buoyed by Sting's power and past successes, Sting's Disgust took a leadership role over his other four emotions, with Sting's Joy serving as second in command, and the other three largely being marginalized. The status quo, however, only lasted as long as Sting's winning streak did. When he lost the Chariot race, he could blame it on his Dragon Slayer motion sickness, but he had no excuse for losing against an "obsolete" Dragon Slayer like Natsu, despite outnumbering Natsu two to one.

Because Saber Tooth prided itself as being the strongest guild, it expected its members to bring pride to its name. As such, the price of failure was steep, and Sting's guild master, Jiemma, prepared to collect it from Sting and Rogue.

"We really shouldn't have underestimated Fairy Tail," Sting's Sadness said. "Sure their showing was weak until the battles on the second day, but since then, they've won or tied in every battle, and got two of the top three slots in every event."

Sting's other emotions sat around dejectedly. Sting's Joy tried, in vain, to find some sort of silver lining, Sting's Anger overflowed with frustration, looking for some sort of outlet, Sting's Fear was dreading what would happen next, and Sting's disgust was at a loss for words, given that those he had dismissed as pathetic had defeated Sting.

"We're finished..." Sting's Sadness said. "Master's telling us to erase our guild crest, so now, we'll have to find a new guild, just like Yukino. We really shouldn't have looked down upon her, especially now that all the others are looking at us with contempt."

"Lector isn't," Sting's Joy said. "He believes in 'Sting-kun,' as always. Sting's successes only reinforce that belief, while his failures are things he'll bounce back from."

"Yeah, that's nice," Sting's Disgust said, allowing himself to smile without a hint of arrogance. "But why is the Master acting like he doesn't know Lector?"

Lector, oblivious to the danger, showed Jiemma his crest, and, before the horrified eyes of Sting, his emotions, and the rest of the guild, Jiemma cast a spell, causing a large explosion. Lector called out Sting's name one final time, and then, when the explosion faded, he had vanished.

The rest of Saber Tooth, previously smug, now looked appalled, and Rogue quickly moved in to shield Frosch, lest his Exceed partner suffer Sting's fate.

"NO! LECTOR!" Sting's Anger said, crumpling a newspaper with the headline "LECTOR: 778-791" as the headline.

With Jiemma's dismissive and callous remarks only fueling his rage, Sting's Anger opened a hatch and slammed his fist down on a button, causing Sting to fire a burst of light that blasted a hole in Jiemma's chest, much to the astonishment of almost everyone in the guild, including Sting's other emotions.

"What have you done, Anger?" Sting's Fear said, grabbing hold of Sting's Anger. "You just attacked and tried to murder the Master in front of all the guild. Even if he doesn't survive, or should I say _especially_ if he doesn't, do you think Ojou and the rest of the guild are going to let it slide?"

"Take a good look," Sting's Anger said, shoving Sting's Fear away and pointing at the screen. "Ojou doesn't seem to mind, and is smugly saying that her dad's being judged by his own rules, while Sting could be a good master. Heh, serves him right."

Sting's Fear searched through his memories for memories of Minerva and Jiemma to serve as evidence that she would exact retribution on Sting, but couldn't find any that would suggest a healthy father-daughter relationship. At best, they seemed to get along as much as Jiemma did with his subordinates, with him seeing Minerva as a particularly useful one, but one who could be discarded if she failed at a critical point or was no longer useful. At worst, Sting had heard disturbing implications that Minerva had been subject to the same sorts of humiliations that those who disappointed Jiemma had been, ostensibly to make her stronger. Unable to find anything that would support his argument, yet unwilling to be overly optimistic, Sting's Fear turned back to the situation and watched it play out.

"So Ojou's saying that one's feelings can become a source of strength," Sting's Sadness said, "and she cites Sting's feelings for Lector as one such example. But Lector's..."

"...still alive," Sting's Joy said, drawing the other emotions' attentions to the screen. Sting asked about it, and then heard Minerva confirm Lector's survival. "It looks like things worked out for the best after all. Now all we have to do is ask Ojou nicely,and-"

As Sting's Joy spoke, he engaged the protocols to beg for Lector's return, only to find it rebuffed unless Sting helped Saber Tooth Grand Magic Games. The five emotions stared in soundless disbelief, and Sting's three teammates and the other guild members present shared it as well.

"Keep trying," Sting's Joy said. "Ojou demands respect, but she's still somewhat flexible; she lets Yukino call her by name since Yukino uses '-sama' on her."

Both Sting's Joy's attempt to cheer up the emotions and to talk Minerva into immediately releasing Lector failed. Minerva was more flexible and open-minded than her father, which was not saying much, but shared his goal to win the Grand Magic Games by any means necessary, and hoped that Sting would show her how much stronger he had become. Now that Saber Tooth was entering the last day in second place- while far from an insurmountable obstacle, it was not one that Jiemma wanted to have to overcome- Minerva would hold nothing back when it came to defeating her enemies or "encouraging" her allies.

"What does that witch think she's playing at?" Sting's Anger said. "I'll show her- HEY!"

Sting's Fear put Sting's Anger in a hold and dragged him away from the control panel.

"For Lector's sake, the only thing you'll 'show her' is that she needs Sting to win the Grand Magic Games," Sting's Fear said. "Ojou did warn us not to try anything rash, so she'll be expecting a surprise attack. We can't just take her down with a blast of magic in a fit of rage, and the same goes for Fairy Tail and the others. We need a plan."

* * *

The emotions spent most of the time until the next match dealing with what had happened. Sting's Joy tried to stay optimistic, looking for weaknesses in Minerva's Territory, and forming possible rescue plans for Lector, but Sting's Fear and Sadness were quick to point out the flaws.

"...so after we get back up to first place, we can ask Ojou to let us see Lector," Sting's Joy said, "and after she does, we wait until she's distracted and shoot her in the back and take Lector."

Sting's Joy looked optimistic, but Sting's Fear and Sadness shook their heads.

"I'm pretty sure attacking one's teammates is grounds for disqualification," Sting's Fear said. "Otherwise, if your captain was about to lose to an enemy, you could land the finishing blow instead and deny the other team the points."

"Ok, then, change of plans," Sting's Joy said. "We wait until Ojou faces a strong enemy- probably Erza-san, Laxus-san, Kagura-san or Jura-san- and let them take her down."

"If we abandon her or hold back, she'll know," Sting's Sadness said. "Besides, we don't know how likely a scenario that will be."

The final day of the Grand Magic Games came, and Sting was set aside as a backup plan, to sweep up the remaining members after they fought each other. Sting ran into some opposition, including Bacchus, the ace and team leader of Quattro Cerberus, which had been rechristened "Quattro Puppy" after Bacchus's loss to Elfman, and defeated him while remaining entirely unscathed and while expanding little of his magic power.

Sting's teammates fell one by one, including Minerva.

"Ojou's out of the game," Sting's Joy said. "Quick, let's go over and search for Lector."

"Don't," Sting's Fear said. "Ojou probably put him somewhere outside the arena so that Sting can't leave to go get Lector without being disqualified."

"Ok" Sting's Joy said. "But once we win, we'll take Lector back. Ojou can hardly deny that she needs him."

"The fact that Fairy Tail was able to beat Ojou aside," Sting's Fear said, "what condition do you think Lector will be when we get him back? That girl from Mermaid Heel was covered with scratches because Ojou was bored."

The other emotions fell into silence, less and less fond of the outcome as they imagined what state Lector would be in once Minerva was finished with him. The only thing keeping them from falling into despair was the assumption that, since Minerva needed him as a hostage, Lector would not be killed or suffer irreversible damage.

* * *

By the end, only Sting and the five Fairy Tail members remained. In most cases, victory would seem completely impossible, but Sting recovered a bit of his confidence.

"We're eight points behind Fairy Tail," Sting's Joy said, "and there are nine points' worth of enemies coming our way. It's exactly how we want it, so let's get the ball rolling."

Sting fired off a magical flare with the Saber Tooth guild emblem, and shouted a challenge to Fairy Tail at the top of his lungs.

"You sure this is such a good idea?" Sting's Fear said. "Now they know where Sting is, but he doesn't know where they are."

"It saves us some time," Sting's Joy said. "Besides, now we know they're coming for Sting, and don't have to worry about being taken by surprise while looking for them."

Some time passed, as the remaining Fairy Tail members hobbled over to Sting. He was grateful that there was no time limit, lest it run out and the match go to Fairy Tail, which had the highest point total and the most members left.

Soon, the five Fairy Tail team members stood before Sting. There was Gray, who had defeated Rufus, as well as Chelia and Lyon with Juvia's help. There was Juvia, who had defeated the majority of her fellow combatants in Day 4's event almost effortlessly. There was Gajeel, who had defeated Rogue in single combat. There was Laxus, who had defeated Jura, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, after Jura had easily defeated Orga. There was Erza, who had overpowered Kagura and defeated Minerva. They were injured and at a fraction of their strength, but they outnumbered him.

Following Joy's cues, Sting spoke with them full of bluster, taunting them to come at him all at once. His former admiration of them and desire to defeat them were genuine, but as they stood undeterred, hi s confidence began to wane.

"Why aren't they buckling?" Sting's Joy said. "They should know Sting can take them as they are, even before he started fighting with the strength of his bond with Lector."

"Do I need to explain it to all of you?" Sting's Fear said. "It's probably better if I show you."

Sting's Fear put on a memory, one colored a deep green for disgust. In it, Natsu had explained that Fairy Tail did not seek glory, but sought to compete in order to vindicate the efforts of those who had waited for their return all those years. This show of determination had only taken him to fifth place, while the hung over Bacchus seized the victory, but he spoke to the motivation that drove the rest of Fairy Tail as far as they did.

"So you can see that we're not the only ones fighting for friends," Sting's Fear said. "And that reminds me; that one point is a large part of the reason why we're in this mess in the first place."

Sting's Fear then put on the memory of his defeat, specifically the part in which Natsu defeating the Twin Dragons gave Fairy Tail a one-point lead over Saber Tooth. Among the three last placers in the Chariot event- whose poor showings were a far cry from even the fifth placer, Ichiya- Sting had forfeited any chance at points, while Natsu had, while persisting, gained two points, the first Fairy Tail's A Team earned. The points put him one point closer to Fairy Tail B, and when the two teams were merged, they added to Fairy Tail's overall score, since the weaker team's points were chosen. Natsu, by being determined to never give up, had achieved a small advantage that became a large lead for Fairy Tail.

"Rub it in, why don't you?" Sting's Disgust said, painfully aware of the implications behind Sting's Fear showing the memory, since Sting's Disgust had been the one to favor forfeiting the match in order to save some time and Sting's dignity.

"One point doesn't matter much at this juncture," Sting's Sadness said. "If we had that point over Fairy Tail, we'd still have to take down the captain, and we don't know who it is."

Fear's order from Imagination then arrived, and showed some videos of how the battle might go. In one scenario, he attacked Erza, ostensibly the most vulnerable of the five, but she blocked with a previously unseen light-resistant armor, and Laxus retaliated with a bolt that knocked Sting off his feet. In another, he prepared a Holy Dragon's Roar, but before he could, he got struck simultaneously with a Iron Dragon's Roar, Water Nebula and a Lightning Dragon's Roar, before being finished off by Erza and Gray slashing him.

"Come on," Sting's Disgust said. "Don't you have any that end well for Sting?"

"I'm trying," Sting's Fear said. "Perhaps I should tell the people in Imagination to use the Rose Colored Glasses. But the simple truth is that we've seen what these people can do when the odds are against them and they're fighting for the sake of their comrades. They've overcome their opponents thus far, and fought on even footing with us, so if we face them, we had best be ready for that."

"Well, so are we," Sting's Disgust said. "Since you went and showed us some memories, you'd better also show the one in which Sting only gets Lector back if he wins the games."

"I know," Sting's Fear said. "But at the same time, I'm not sure if we'll see him again even if we fight."

"I'm with Fear," Sting's Sadness said. "I'd rather not rely on Ojou to keep her promise."

"At this point, perhaps we can count on Fairy Tail," Sting's Joy said.

"I'm not too fond of surrendering," Sting's Anger said, before his dejected frown gave way to a fierce grin, "but I'd love to see Ojou's face once she hears what we did."

Sting's emotions, with a four to one majority, then pushed the surrender button. Sting, having been hesitating for the past few seconds of real time, fell to his knees and uttered his surrender, disqualifying him and awarding the points to the team the judges credited with his defeat. Fairy Tail's score then rose to 64 points, which was only a formality at this point, and the announcers declared them the winner of the seventh Grand Magic Games.

"Now that we've made our decision," Sting's Disgust said, with a degree of bitterness in his voice, "Erza-san wants us to explain it to her. Since I barely understand it myself, good luck with that."

"It's simple," Sting's Joy said as he input his response. "We thought it was the only way to see, Lector agai-"

Sting's Joy stopped short as Erza answered his question witha yes, and Millianna walked over, carrying Lector in her arms, who was asleep but unharmed. They immediately realized that Millianna, a prisoner of Minerva's Territory, must have stumbled upon Lector by some chance, and, regardless of whether it was knowing or willing, taken him with her when she was ejected.

Sting's Joy turned to the other emotions, and they each simply gave a nod, allowing Sting to enjoy his reunion with Lector. In spite of the Grand Magic Games ending, the true battle was yet to come, but for now, they celebrated.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows.

I decided to write Minerva's title as "Ojou", since there are a few different translations for it.

Some people find Sting's decision to surrender controversial, but I find it understandable. Sting has his bond with Lector while Fairy Tail has their bonds with each other and the guild, and Sting knows this, as Natsu pointed out in the Chariot event. Essentially after several days of Fairy Tail achieving the nearly impossible and showing incredible levels of persistence, it's likely that even if the last battle seems hopeless for Fairy Tail, Sting suspects that they might be able to pull it off, and so gives up for Lector's sake.


End file.
